The status… is pricey. In two-thirds of developed countries, college is free or less than $2K a year. In the US, private college costs $38K a year, on average, and public schools cost $23K out of state and $10K in state. The cost of college has tripled since 1980, while average pay for young workers is up just 20% since then. Still, many undergrads go into debt for degrees, since grads earn $1M more over their careers than non-grads. But students are reconsidering college’s value: in the past two years, US enrollment dipped 7% as more choose to “earn over learn.”
Snackers say:
- “Spending more money doesn’t always mean getting more in return… Going to college taught me that spending ‘the big bucks’ on something people traditionally value won’t always pay off.” —Isabelle, 27
- “My university BA in psychology was rewarding… and was very overpriced. My community-college AS in nursing was exponentially more financially valuable, but less fun.” —Brad, 32
The outlook… is shifting. President Biden campaigned to make public college free in the US. Now that his Build Back Better bill is stalled that’s… not likely. Meanwhile, schools are making class less costly to woo students: Columbia University recently nixed tuition for kids whose families make less than $150K/year, and Utica College is one of several schools exploring cheaper three-year degrees. College alternatives like coding bootcamp General Assembly also offer new ways to pay, like income-share agreements (ISAs) that charge a % of earnings once grads land jobs (alums work at Google and JPMorgan).